Jacksonville, Fla. — The Jacksonville Aviation Authority Board of Directors unanimously agreed to move ahead with a resolution to hire outside attorneys and authorize a lawsuit against the City of Jacksonville Thursday afternoon.
The dispute between Jacksonville City Council and the authority stems from a decision by council to amend JAA’s budget last year and set aside $10 million for an Florida State College at Jacksonville training center at Cecil Field.
Now, the JAA board contends that decision put the agency at risk of violating Federal Aviation Administration rules that prohibit revenue diversions for uses that aren’t directly related to air transportation.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
Council President Nick Howland (R-Group 3 At-Large) argued JAA’s assertions are wrong, as the FSCJ money can only be spent with proper authorization.
“All we’ve asked for an opportunity to sit down with FSCJ, JAA, FAA and the state to work out a collaborative solution for how it could be done. It’s been done in other airports across the country,” said Howland.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
JAA Board Member Bill Gulliford spoke ahead of the vote on the resolution and argued the council overstepped its bounds by altering the budget of an independent authority.
“The JAA aviation authority is either a non-independent authority created by city charter and controlled by the City Council in ways that could supersede federal and state law, or the Jacksonville Aviation Authority is an independent special district, a political subdivision created by the State of Florida, controlled by the board of directors and regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration,” said Gulliford.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Board members argued their goal is for a court to answer that question.
But the city’s General Counsel Michael Fackler argued that’s the role of his office, as the Office of General Counsel represents all agencies within the consolidated government.
He warned by hiring outside counsel without authorization board members could expose themselves to financial or even criminal liability.
Despite those warnings, the board unanimously approved the resolution.
However, members agreed to delay the filing of any lawsuit by 30 days to give time to work with OGC and come up with a solution that could avoid litigation.
JAA Board Chair David Hodges said it’s his hope a lawsuit will be avoided.
“We’re not drawing lines in the sand. We want to work in that 30 days to come up with a good resolution,” said Hodges.
The JAA Board will meet again once that 30-day window is up to decide whether or not to officially file suit.
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
